


What an Unfortunate Problem

by shadow_prince



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Awkward Boners, Coming Out, Fluff and Angst, Humor, James to the Rescue, Jealousy, M/M, MWPP, Mutual Pining, Pining, Potter parents, Remus Lupin being Done, SCREECH, Sexual Tension, Sharing a Bed, Sirius thinking he can drive, Spoiler Alert - Freeform, Stranded, TW: helicopter, There was only one bed at the inn, This was a rollercoaster oh boy, Unresolved Sexual Tension, but really what were you expecting, hellagay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-23 08:04:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16615085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadow_prince/pseuds/shadow_prince
Summary: It’s winter break of 6th year and Sirius insists he can drive a muggle car, Remus isnotjealous, and there is only one room at the inn.





	What an Unfortunate Problem

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chromat1cs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chromat1cs/gifts), [french_squash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/french_squash/gifts), [SlytherinSweetheart (Cherrypie62666)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherrypie62666/gifts).



“I thought you said you could drive a muggle car?!”

“Yes, well, obviously I lied.”

“NOW it’s obvious, it wasn’t before! Why the hell would you volunteer to drive us if you didn’t know how?”

“How was I to know it was so difficult?”

“You could have started by saying ‘I don’t know how to drive but it can’t be that hard’ and Peter or I could have corrected the insane idea _before_ I got trapped in a car that’s bucking like an untrained hippogryph and left us stranded in the middle of bloody nowhere.”

“Yelling isn’t going to help, Moony.” Sirius huffed, trying to keep his usual air of nonchalance while at the end of his own tether.

“It’s helping me to not physically strangle you, so perhaps you should let me continue,” Remus ground out.

“I don’t suppose you know anything about repairing muggle whats-its, do you?”

“Even if I did, I would not be going out into that downpour for your sorry arse. Fix it yourself.” As if to emphasise his point, Remus crossed his arms and slumped down into his seat, staring out the passenger window. He watched from the corner of his eye as Sirius braved the weather to pop the hood of the car. Through the thick sheets of rain he saw smoke billow out and sparks fly as Sirius poked his wand at things, seemingly at random.

His shoulders drooped as he lowered the hood and climbed back in the driver seat. “I don’t know how to fix it, Moons. Guess it’s a good thing Ted was sending it to the scrapyard before I talked him into letting me use it, eh?” he offered awkwardly.

Remus closed his eyes and didn’t answer, the only sound the pounding rain on the hood of the old car. Eventually rustling was added as Sirius unfolded the paper map they had been using. “Well, it looks like there’s a town just up the road?”

“And how do you propose we get there?”

Sirius huffed, “the car is broken, not your legs.”

“Obviously the Black family insanity has got you in its grasp, if you think I’m walking to town in this storm.”

“Do you have a better suggestion?” When Remus didn’t answer, Sirius continued, “look I know it’s shite, and it’s all my fault, but we can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

In the end, Remus had no better suggestion, and although he wouldn’t admit it, Sirius was right and they couldn’t just sit in the car and hope it would fix itself. That didn’t stop him from grumbling under his breath the entire way through muddy roads into a muggle village.

No amount of heating or drying spells were capable of withstanding the torrential downpour they trudged through, though that didn’t stop Sirius from trying. Both were soaked to the bone and shivering when they stumbled through the door of the only inn. They stood wiping rain from their faces as water ran off them in rivulets, dripping a steadily growing puddle on the cobblestone floor that flowed along the cracks to saturate the worn rug.

A round, middle-aged woman behind the counter immediately began to fuss, running for towels to wrap them in and guiding them toward the fireplace, positive they would catch death any second from their sorry state.

Remus wrapped the blankets tight around himself, sitting as close to the fire as possible, settled into the couch across from Sirius. He saw Sirius shoot him a look when he opted to sit on the other couch, rather than next to him like they usually would in the common room, but chose to ignore it. Sirius turned up the charm on the poor woman, explaining their car breaking down and were there any rooms for them to stay in until they could find someone who wasn’t on holiday to come get them? He should have been less charming while looking like a half drowned cat, but instead it seemed to lend itself to his endeavour.

He was mostly ignoring the situation until he heard the owner come back with the book, confessing to only having one room unoccupied. It was unfortunate, he would much rather have been able to slam a door in Sirius’ face and refused to come out until someone arrived to pick them up, but at least they had a room. It wasn’t like he didn’t always share a room with the git.

Sirius seemed to be of a similar mind, “that’s not a problem, we really appreciate anything at all and we are dormmates at school anyway.”

“Ahh, well. The problem is, this room is a single.”

“Single what?”

“Single bed, dear.”

Remus dared to steal a glance from the corner of his eye at Sirius. His face that had been chalk pale from the rain seeping all the heat from his body had flared a vicious Gryffindor red. He looked to Remus wide eyed, who looked away, staring resolutely back into the flames.

“We’ll make it work,” he answered shakily, smiling gratefully at the woman.

Luckily, they already had muggle money on them, since they had been planning to stay in Glasgow for the winter holiday and had exchanged it ahead of time. As such, it wasn’t really a problem that they had to get a room for a while until they figured out how to get back to Hogwarts. Sirius had managed to talk his cousin’s husband into letting them have his car since he bought a new one. They were going to drive to Glasgow and have a whole load of adventures, both in the wizard and muggle quarters, while James was home with his family, so that newly emancipated Sirius wouldn’t be intruding. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had insisted that he was no burden and a part of their family now, but Remus had a hunch that Sirius wanted a bit of time to not be anyone’s family, to get the taste of his own out of his mouth and make new memories at Christmas time. They had been looking forward to this trip for the past two months with all the anticipation of two nearly-adult guys being set free on an adventure unsupervised.

Well, Remus _had_ been looking forward to it, until he had been out walking the grounds, getting fresh air and stretching his muscles a couple days after the full moon, and had accidentally found Sirius. More specifically, found Sirius with his arms wound around Fabian Prewett’s neck, snogging his face off, behind Greenhouse #3.

He had been rooted to the spot, staring as the two men grew more heated. Sirius ended up pressed hard against the glass, Fabian’s hands under his robes and holding him in place by his hips. Sirius’ fingers had tangled in that long red hair in a way that made him think it couldn’t possibly be the first time.

Luckily, neither of them had seen him, and he was able to slip off undetected. In the following week he managed to avoid Sirius for the most part, but couldn’t come up with a believable reason or way to break off their trip. So here he was. Trapped in a nowhere muggle village, soaking wet and freezing, with no idea how they were getting home, and only one bed for the two of them.

He should have known better than to think this could go anyway but horribly.

Dragging his feet up the stairs, he waited while Sirius unlocked the door and shut it behind them again. True to her word, there was only one bed, and not even enough room in the small room to make it larger. Irritated, Remus dropped his wand on the nightstand. It was essentially useless anyway, since he wouldn’t turn 17 until March.

“I’m taking the bed.”

Sirius’ jaw dropped in shock, more from the declaration than the actual thought of sleeping on the floor. It was rare that Remus asserted himself, but unheard of that he did so at the expense of one of his friends. “And where am I going to sleep?!”

“I couldn’t care less, it’s your fault we’re stuck here. Change into Padfoot and maybe it will make the floor more comfortable.” He didn’t look back as he stepped into the bathroom, securely locking the door behind him.

When he emerged, he was certain he would find Sirius petulantly in the bed, but instead found the room to be empty, illuminated only by the occasional flash of lightning outside the drafty windows. Draping his soaking wet clothes over the radiator, he slipped under the covers in only his pants, pulling the blankets up to his ears.

He wasn’t quite asleep, but not quite awake either, when Sirius returned. He locked the door, placed his wand next to Remus’, and shifted to Padfoot without a word or complaint. The big dog curled up in front of the radiator and was quickly asleep, while Remus continued to lay awake, guilt and frustration clawing at him into the early morning hours when the rain changed to snow.

Despite his inability to fall asleep the previous night, Remus still woke before Sirius, dressing quietly and slipping out of the room without waking him. As bitterly resentful as he was feeling toward his friend at the moment, he resolved to try and get a message to James, since Sirius had handled finding them a place to stay.

There was already nearly a foot of snow on the ground when Remus stepped out. The wind from the day before had died down and the flurries fell in lazy drifting patterns down to cover everything in its cold blanket. It softened all the edges and drab colours, leaving Remus without any of the fire in his fight that he had held onto for the past week.

Hands shoved deep in his pockets, he meandered without a real idea of where he was headed, but needing to be away from Sirius for a while and vaguely keeping an eye out for any stray owls. The village was small, hardly bigger than Hogsmeade, but bustling with muggles. Children ran in the streets, laughing and spinning in the crystalline powder, lobbing snowballs at one another from behind trees and between buildings. As the sun rose higher in the sky and crested the tall trees in the early afternoon, it created a blinding glittering effect across the landscape that made even a wizard like Remus, who knew real magic, think there was something magical about it.

Adults bustled about, attempting to finish the last bits of their holiday business as the shops opened. Decorations could be seen behind frosted glass and wreaths adorned nearly every doorway he passed. So caught up was he in the picturesque scene of holiday cheer, he almost missed the swoop of a snowy owl, blending in with its surroundings before settling on the windowsill of an otherwise nondescript cottage, nestled between a flower shop and a bakery.

Remus paused watching until someone inside opened the window and allowed the owl in. Chewing his lip, he considered how best to go about asking the strange question of _yes, hello, I noticed you have an owl, is it trained to deliver letters or are you just a muggle with an owl?_

Sighing, Remus trudged up the steps to the door, mentally making a list of all the things in his life that were Sirius Black’s fault, starting with his bed drapes catching on fire _the first day at Hogwarts,_ sprinkled with five and a half years of Extreme Sexual Confusion, and ending with a pending possible violation of clause 73 of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.

He knocked hesitantly, until the door was opened slowly, and a very young witch (hopefully. presumably) peered out. She couldn’t have been more than two or three years older than he, and he wracked his brain for any memory of her face. “Errm, hi, terribly sorry to bother you.”

“That’s alright,” she replied, opening the door further, apparently calmed by his awkward shuffling. “You’re not from around here.”

“No, you see… I go to _school_ several hours away from here. Boarding school actually, further in the highlands, and I got stranded here.”

Her eyes went slightly wider and she chewed nervously on her lip, but didn’t say anything. If Remus hadn’t been studying her reactions closely, he would have missed the change entirely.

“I’m trying to figure out how to get back to school and I happened to notice you have an _owl_ , and, er, wondered about it.”

The woman let out a breath she had been holding, but her eyes still glanced around to see who was nearby. “Sure, sure. I went to boarding school as well. Say, what’s your favourite _animal?”_

“Lion!” he blurted out.

She grinned with barely concealed laughter, and stepped back, arm held out. “Why don’t you come inside?”

Once inside the warm house and catching sight of a cauldron in the corner of the sitting room, Remus let out a huge breath, “oh thank goodness.”

The witch laughed in relief herself, “we need to have a password or something that relates _are you a muggle or not_ because that never stops being stressful.”

“I completely agree. Remus Lupin, by the way,” he held his hand out, smiling warmly.

“Celeste Morelli. How did you get stranded in this little place??”

“My idiot friend claimed he could drive a muggle car. We were headed to Glasgow for the holiday break and he blew something up outside town and we had to walk in that storm last night.”

“Oh Merlin! You’re lucky you didn’t drown. Is there someone you can owl to get you then?”

“That’s the goal, if you wouldn’t mind letting me borrow yours? Neither of us can apparate.”

“And I’m not hooked up to the floo network. Owl is your best bet, I think.”

“I really appreciate it.”

Celeste waved her hand dismissively, “it’s nothing at all, really.”

She led him to an old upright wooden desk, pulling out parchment and a quill, gesturing for him to sit. He penned a quick note to James detailing their problem and location and begging him to find a way to get them out of here as soon as possible. Celeste’s owl was calm and patient as he rolled and attached the note to it’s outstretched leg. Opening the window he asked if she could find the Potter’s estate in London and received a happy hoot in reply, before it took off back out into the snow.

Letter sent off, Remus turned back, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

“So are you staying at the Messy Wolf Pub and Inn, then?”

Remus froze wide eyed, then covered his face, “Godric’s saggy- is that what the place is really called?”

Her laugh was musical and Remus peeked out from between his fingers. “It’s the only inn in the village and I’m guessing you didn’t walk from a different one, since that would be quite the hike. But, yes, that is really what our inn is called. Fitting with your name, hmm?” Her eyes twinkled with mirth and Remus regretted having never met her in Hogwarts. He felt like they would have gotten along well, with a significant amount less things exploding that occurred with his current friends. “How about I walk back with you? I could use the fresh air and it won’t look quite so strange, since I don’t get very many visitors.”

“That would be lovely.”

He waited by the front door while she pulled on a coat and gloves and the two stepped out into the snow that had piled even higher in the time he had been inside. Walking side by side, they talked of nothing of importance, but the conversation was comfortable and left Remus feeling better than he had in ages. The sun had already set and lanterns been lit, along with Christmas lights that shone from the windows and roofs of the houses and shops.

When they stopped out front of the inn, Remus spotted a certain black dog approaching from the other direction, a healthy dusting of snow covering his thick fur. Remus turned away, smiling warmly at Celeste. “Thank you again for all of your help.”

“Of course! If Nora returns with a letter from your friend I’ll bring it to you here?”

“That would be great.”

She smiled and gave a small wave, before turning and heading back the way they had came. When Remus turned back around, it was to Sirius leaning against the stone wall at the edge of an alleyway. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was frowning, but didn’t say anything, nodding his head toward the entrance of the Inn.

Sirius made a beeline for the stairs to their room, but Remus turned instead to the pub. Having wandered the town all day, he hadn’t eaten anything and only then realised how starving he was. Sirius scowled again, but followed him to a booth in the back of the room. They were quiet as a waiter brought them menus and water. Sirius kept stealing glances at him over the menu, but quickly looked back down when Remus raised an eyebrow at him in question.

“Make a friend today then?” He winced, his attempt to keep his voice light and uncaring coming off condescending instead.

Remus didn’t look up from the steak section he was scrutinising, replying lightly “got a letter sent to James to come get us.”

Startled, Sirius looked up in shock, eyebrows buried beneath long sweeps of dark hair. “How did you manage that?”

Smiling up at the waiter, Remus ordered his dinner, amused when Sirius had to scramble and decide what he wanted. After a cursory glance to ensure he and everyone else was out of earshot, he turned back to Sirius. “I was wandering in hopes of finding an owl and I did. No big deal,” he looked away, uncomfortable under that calculating gaze. Not that he had anything to hide or that Sirius had any business judging him. “Hopefully will only be a few days before James or his parents can get us out of this mess.”

Remus tried not to fidget in the heavy silence that followed. “You’re not just mad about the car. And you didn’t just go looking for an owl. You avoided me all day and I have no idea why.”

“Don’t be stupid,” he mumbled.

“I’m not. So don’t treat me like I am. You avoided me before we left. I thought- well, I thought the trip would fix it but it’s not, so what is it then?”

He was saved from procuring an excuse by their food arriving, but spent the entire meal with his eyes glued to his plate and Sirius’ eyes boring holes into the top of his head.

As soon as they were out of earshot of other guests, Sirius started harping on him again. Through the entry way and up the stairs, he kept up a running string of complaints, as if being unable to bother him all day had built up to a boiling point and was now spilling over. “I don’t get what your problem is. This was supposed to be an exciting adventure, just you and me. A bonding experience! I thought we were going to have _fun_ , Moony.”

“Well, at least you’ve got Fabian for that now,” he muttered under his breath.

Behind him, Sirius froze on the steps and Remus closed his eyes, regretting letting the words slip out in his irritation. He hurried the rest of the way into the room with Sirius hot on his heels, slamming the door behind them, whipping out his wand and casting a hasty silencing charm on the room.

“What did you say?” his voice was hardly more than a whisper and cold as ice. His eyes were hard and jaw clenched. Remus was almost worried he was going to punch him, but thought perhaps he’d welcome the fight right now rather than talking about it.

Squaring his shoulders, he held his chin up. “I said. At least you’ve got Fabian for that now,” he enunciated every word, slowly and precisely.

“So that’s it? You can’t handle sharing a room with a bloody poof? It’s not catching you know,” he spat out.

“Of course that’s not it! What do you take me for, that I’d be pissed you’re gay, or _whatever._ ”

“What do you mean _of course_ , you’ve been an arse for the past two weeks and now you make a comment about Fabian and you think I’m jumping to conclusions? And _yes_ the _whatever_ you’re looking for is _gay._ ”

“I don’t CARE that you’re gay, I meant whatever like,” he waved his hand vaguely, too frustrated to formulate words. “Like you could be bisexual and like both, or _whatever,_ I didn’t want to say gay because you haven’t told me that’s what you are.” In the back of his thoughts, Remus was glad that Sirius had cast a silencing charm as their voices continued to rise.

His eyes narrowed and hands continued to clench and unclench at his sides. “Well, I am. So go on, tell me how _pissed_ you are that I’m bent. How you can’t stand to share a bed with me, since surely I’ll try and pull something. Go on then! My whole family took the piss, so you should too.”

It felt like hot embers sat in his chest, burning him from the inside out with indignation. “No! Are you not listening to a bloody word I’m saying? I’m pissed you didn’t tell me!”

Sirius’ face twisted in anger and skepticism. “Oh, that’s rich. You’re pissed I didn’t tell you something major about me.”

“That’s different...”

“How? How is this different?”

“Because you’re not also a werewolf!” he shouted in Sirius’ face, hands pulling his own hair in frustration.

Sirius opened his mouth to scream back, but what he had said suddenly clicked. Remus saw the moment it sank in, saw the realisation in his eyes, his mouth snapping shut a moment later. Remus moved toward the door, desperate to get out and as far away as possible, but Sirius anticipated the move and was faster.

“Oh, no you don’t.”

“Fuck off, Sirius, let me go!”

Hands wrapped tight around Remus’ biceps, he pushed him hard against the wall, holding him in place. Remus bared his teeth and snarled but Sirius didn’t even flinch, still staring at him in wonder.

“You’re upset because you are too,” his voice was soft and filled with wonder. All the bluster gone from his sails now that he knew he wasn’t under attack. “Then why didn’t you tell me?”

Remus looked away, all too aware of the hypocrisy of the situation. “I figured if any of you were bent you would have announced it to the whole world and then I’d know I could say I was too. But none of you ever brought it up so I didn’t- I wasn’t- I couldn’t lose you all.”

“Moony,” his voice cracked and he loosened his grip. Remus slowly pulled away, sliding to the floor and putting his head in his hands.

After several minutes of silence, heavy with even more unsaid words, he got up and stripped off his clothes, slipping under the blankets despite the early hour. “You can sleep in the bed too, Pads. I’m sure we can both fit.”

“I- yeah. Thanks.”

They lay back to back, stiff as boards and perfectly straight on the edges of the bed so as not to touch. Neither could fall asleep and finally, in the middle of the night, Sirius huffed in exasperation. Getting out of bed, he shifted into Padfoot, before jumping back on the bed and nudging Remus with his wet nose until the boy rolled over, letting the dog settle against the length of his body like they did after full moons.

The next morning, Remus woke slowly, feeling warm and content, if slightly disoriented. Blinking his eyes open, he startled when he found Sirius laying extremely close, watching him, before the night before came rushing back in a crashing tidal wave.

“Hi,” he whispered, hesitantly.

“Hi.” Sirius searched his face for a moment, his mouth hanging open, as if undecided on what to say. “You saw Fabian and I behind the greenhouse.”

“Yes..?”

Sirius licked his lips, his face a picture of anxiety. “I’m not- that’s not. We’re not a thing.”

Surprised, Remus blinked rapidly, unsure how to respond. “Oh.”

Raking fingers through his hair and nearly elbow Remus in the process, Sirius sighed. “So, his brother-in-law is related to me somehow. Descendent of on of the few sane Blacks, and it made its rounds through the family that I was disowned for being bent-”

“You didn’t tell me that’s why you were thrown out!”

“-and he was trying to figure out if he was bent and asked if we could snog a bit so he’d know if kissing blokes was his thing. It is, for the record, but we’re not- That’s not a thing that’s going to keep happening. I just...thought you should know,” he finished weakly, not meeting Remus’ eyes.

“Right. Thanks.”

“And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

With shaking fingers, Remus brushed hair away from Sirius’ face so that he could see him properly. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I knew I was being hypocritical and overreacting, it’s just- it hurt that someone not even in the Marauders knew more about you than I did? Merlin, that sounds pathetic even to me.”

“No, I get it. I was just. Scared. Haven’t even told James yet.”

“He’ll be fine with it, Pads. We all will.”

Sirius nodded, face flushed and uncharacteristically bashful. Remus rolled over, out of bed and stood, stretching. He already felt incredibly guilty for enjoying being that close to Sirius and knew he shouldn’t take advantage of the situation any more than he was forced to.

“I’m going to take a shower, and then… dunno. Sit downstairs by the fire and wait for James, I guess.”

Grunting, Sirius rolled over and buried his face in the pillow in response, apparently determined to remain where he was.

Emerging from the shower with a towel slung low around his waist, Remus searched for the bag the Sirius had brought with them, magically expanded to hold their clothes and other necessities. Sirius lifted his head from the pillow long enough for Remus to see his eyes go wide and face a brilliant scarlet, before he buried it again.

Admittedly, it was natural for James and Sirius to wander the dorm in only a towel, but exceedingly rare for Remus to. Still, it was a perplexing reaction that sent Remus’ stomach swooping like a first year on a broom.

“I need you to expand the bag, Pads.”

“Why can’t you?” came the petulant answer, muffled by the fabric in his mouth.

“Because I’m not 17, and can’t use magic?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Sirius rolled over, grasping at his wand on the night table but accidently knocking it off. It rolled until it laid at Remus’ feet. Rather than retrieve his own, he grabbed Remus’, quickly cast the spell, and rolled back over to how he was.

“I hate that my wand responds to you,” Remus mumbled.

Sirius made a choking sound that tapered off into a whimper. Remus stopped, hands frozen on the edge of his towel, bag open at his feet, cocking his head to the side in a question that Sirius couldn’t see.

Then, it sank in what he had said, his mouth dropping open in an _oh._ He considered clarifying, but then realised that any attempt at a _denial_ of that being what he meant would also be a _lie,_ so, better left alone he decided.

Instead he tugged on a clean pair of pants and a jumper, resolutely pretending nothing had happened and ignoring the burning crimson he was sure now stained his cheeks. Waiting to pull on socks and trousers to not get them wet, he returned to the bathroom to hang his towel. “Planning to stay there all day then, are you?”

“Oh bloody, buggering, fuck muffins.”

Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Sirius - twisted on the bed, presumably to answer his question - stopped dead and staring at his ass.

“Why, and _how,_ can you make _pants and a jumper_ look hot?!”

“Ha, ha. Very funny, Sirius,” he tried to keep his voice sarcastic, to not let the hurt seep into his belief of the joking nature of the comment. He was all too aware of his outdated clothing. At best he was a swot, at worst, well, a destitute and physically mangled werewolf.

He was wrenched out of his self-deprecation and loathing by Sirius’ steely tone of voice. “Come here.”

“What?”

“Come. Here.”

Brokering no room for argument, Remus finishing draping his towel and crossed to stand at the side of the bed. Sirius held his hand out expectantly, and Remus hesitantly placed his own in it. Twisting the rest of the way around to lay on his back, Sirius placed Remus’ hand on his jeans, directly over his groin. His _very, very erect_ groin.

“Does that clarify whether that was a joke?”

Faintly, Remus nodded his head, unable to trust his voice at that moment.

Sirius pulled his hand away, moving slowly to shuffle back and sit against the headboard, hugging a pillow over himself. “I just. You know. Thought you should know.”

Remus continued to stand dumbfounded, his brain felt as if it was going both too slow, and too fast, unable to snatch onto a solitary thought that all seemed to be buzzing like a hive filled with honey.

“Anytime you wanted to put on trousers, that would be great.”

“My wand responds to you!” he blurted out, surprising himself just as much as Sirius. They stared at one another in shocked silence for another beat, before Remus snatched his trousers from the bag. “Just thought you should know.”

He slammed the bathroom door behind him and contemplated the rate of success if he tried to drown himself in the toilet bowl.

“Are you ever going to come out of there again, or are you planning your death?”

“Oh, shut up!”

“You know, you really missed out on some good wand jokes.”

“Please don’t,” Remus begged.

“You didn’t even ask if that was my wand in my pocket or if I was happy to see you.”

“I am _literally begging you, Sirius._ ”

“Say, how long is your wand?”

“SIRIUS!”

“Moony, it’s not about the size of the wand, you know. It’s all about how you wield it.”

Remus yanked the door open, startling Sirius who was standing just outside leaning against the frame. Fisting his hands in his shirt, he backed the other boy up until he slammed against the wall. A growl rumbled in his chest, “why are you doing this to me?”

“How did you know?” Sirius asked breathily.

“Know what? That you’re a fucking wanker?”

“That you were gay. How did you know?”

Unwillingly, his eyes darted down to Sirius’ lips before snapping back up to wide silver eyes. He swallowed thickly before pressing his body against Sirius’ where he was pinned to the wall. From chest to thigh they fit against each other like jagged pieces of the same puzzle, all hard edges and shattered pasts fitting together into a single messy picture.

Sirius quickly hardened against him again, straining in his jeans against Remus’ already throbbing erection. His hands relaxed, splaying across Sirius’ chest, before fisting in the worn fabric again. Tilting his head up to account for the slight height difference, he let the breath he had been holding escape in a great resigned sigh. Against him, Sirius shuddered.

“When you made the Quidditch team and I couldn’t figure out if I wanted you to never take off the uniform, or if I wanted to rip it off you myself. Which led to the very obvious realisation that I wanted to bone you, and not just be your friend.”

Sirius whimpered, his hips twitching and pupils flaring large as lunar eclipse.

“What are you playing at, Sirius?” he breathed.

Sliding a hand under the back of Remus’ jumper, Sirius went perfectly still but held him close against him. “Ask me how I knew.”

“How did you know?”

“The first full moon we spent with you, the next morning... I knocked James sideways when he tried to touch you. I would have fought off _anyone_ who tried to get near you in such a vulnerable state. And I used to think my protectiveness over you was just friendly, but that day I realised James was your friend, too.” He ran his hand soothingly up and down Remus’ back, who slowly relaxed from his agitated state, listening to Sirius’ hushed tones. “I wanted to be the one to care for you. I wanted to be the one to protect you. I don’t want to be your friend, I want to be your partner. I don’t want to just protect you these moons, I want to spend every single moon from now until eternity with you.”

Tears were burning in his eyes, but Remus couldn’t find it in him to care. He buried his face in Sirius’ neck, strong arms coming up to hold him tight.

“I’m sorry I buggered it all up with Fabian and all that. I never would have kissed him if I had known I had a chance with you. I thought- well. I thought it was nice helping someone figure themselves out, and that it didn’t matter since I didn’t stand a chance of having you.”

“You’re such an idiot,” Remus babbled, fists tightening as if he would never let go. “You’ve had me all along. I’ve loved you from the moment you set my bloody bed on fire, and I will continue loving you through every stupid thing you do until the end of time.”

Sirius gently tipped his face up, wiping away the traitorous tears that streaked down his cheeks, and softly pressed his lips to his forehead. Slowly and deliberately, he scattered kisses across his face until Remus was a helpless pool of limbs leaning against him.

He kissed the edge of his lips and hovered, waiting, until Remus turned and fit them together properly. It started slow and tentative - short, chaste, and barely there presses of soft lips, that grew longer and more confident. Remus slipped his hands up to the back of Sirius’ neck, pulling him down, pinning him harder to the wall with every passing moment.

Hot tongues and wandering hands became frantic, guided only by desire to feel every square inch of one another. A knock on the door had them leaping back, wide-eyed and shocked as if struck by lightning. Remus lost his balance, tumbling over the bed with an _oof._ Sparing a look at Sirius, and a meaningful glance down at his state of undress, he dove for the bathroom, shutting the door and searching for his clothing.

After several long beats of silence and another knock, he heard Sirius open the door.

“THERE the plonker is!” James exclaimed excitedly.

Remus hurried, tugging on his trousers and pulling his jumper as low past his waist as it would stretch, before reemerging. James was leaned in the doorway and peering curiously into the room, eyeing the single narrow bed with overt dismay.

“Damn, that’s a _tiny_ bed. Where’d you make Sirius sleep, Moons?”

“The dog house,” he answered straight faced.

James cackled, but Sirius just rolled his eyes and avoided looking at Remus while attempting to inconspicuously readjust himself. Which was to say, completely conspicuously.

Motioning James into the room, Remus gathered the few belongings they had removed from the bag and stowed them again so that Sirius could recharm it. The three bounded down the stairs, steadily growing more boisterous the longer they were with James. It was easy to fall back into their usual camaraderie with him there as a buffer, dispelling all awkwardness and making unanswered questions seem much smaller and less frightening than they had when it was just Remus and Sirius.

They were informed the Potter parents had come to retrieve them and were waiting only a short walk outside of town. The snow had stopped but lay in a great heavy blanket across everything. It was a struggle to walk through and the cold and wet quickly seeped into Remus’ boots.

The entire trip, James was rather suspicious, in the patented James-Potter-Is-Up-To-Something way. He kept throwing glances at the other two and trying not to giggle (which had got them caught during pranking more times than one.)

“Mum and Da are just up here, ready to take us all back home. Really, Sirius, they’re quite upset with you.”

“I didn’t mean to ruin your holiday…”

“No, more that you should have just come home in the first place and not risked yours and Remus’ health in the weather and honestly doesn’t that boy know we love him,” James’ voice was pitched high in an eerily accurate imitation of his mother’s fussing. “Although she is quite excited that you’re coming back, Remus. She’s been dying to have us all home for a holiday, apparently.”

“Can you blame her James, for thinking you’re not good enough?”

“Oi!” James scooped up a ball of snow and lobbed it at the back of Sirius’ head. It would have devolved into an all out fight, had they not broken through the trees a moment later.

Coming out at the edge of a clearing, Remus stopped dead in his tracks. “NOPE, nuh uh. No way.”

“Come on Rem, it was the only way!”

“THIS WAS NOT THE ONLY WAY!”

“THIS IS AWESOME!” Sirius yelled, sprinting through the snow, or at least attempting to. It was more of a stumbling leap, lacking in all of the grace the boy usually possessed.

James was grinning maniacally.

“Did you really tell your parents this was the only way to get us?”

“I mean, what other option did we have?”

“Walking would be preferable to a bloody _helicopter,_ James. In fact, I will start now. Perhaps I’ll make it back to school in time for classes next week. Hopefully I’ll die frostbite.”

“As if you would get so lucky.”

“You’re right,” Remus admitted, resigned. “I’m really getting in a helicopter, aren’t I.”

As if sensing his wavering conviction in refusing to leave by helicopter, Mrs. Potter appeared in the door, waving like the Queen of England herself.

James leaned in, whispering conspiratorially, “I told her there was a chance she would have to interact with muggles and should dress accordingly, just in case.”

“Oh no…”

“Oh yes.”

Approaching slowly, dragging his feet through the mounds of snow, Remus let out another exasperated sigh at the outfits the Potter parents were wearing. Mrs. Potter was had on a stunning set of Indian wedding garb in a brilliant blood red, with glittering beads of gold and white. Here hair hung free, buffeting in the wind in great dark waves like a goddess against the backdrop of all white. A goddess in a helicopter.

“I imagine your father is in a tux?”

“Of course he is.”

Mr. Potter peeked over his wife’s shoulder, wrapping an arm around his wife’s waist protectively. “Hurry up boys, we only have a few hours left on this rental contraption and I want to detour over Manchester to spit on their Quidditch pitch!”

“Really, I could walk.”

James stood behind Remus, blocking his retreat. “Come on then, you won’t let Sirius have all the fun. Especially not after getting you stranded here, that would just be rewarding bad behaviour, and we can’t have that.”

“That’s exactly what’s happening. You’re bailing Sirius out of a bad situation in a _helicopter._ What’s next? He launches us in a canoe without a paddle and you fish us out with a submarine?”

“Don’t tempt me, Moons. I have the resources and the connections.”

“You’re rich. You’re trying to make it sound all sophisticated, but all it comes down it is having the money to spare and parents gullible enough to believe in your absolute dog shite ideas.”

“And don’t you forget it!” James grinned, climbing into the helicopter and holding out a hand to pull Remus in after him.

They did indeed circle over Manchester, and Mr. Potter did lean over and spit approximately over their Quidditch pitch, before the pilot demanded they return to their seats and not move for the remainder of the flight.

Sirius positively bounced in his seat, pointing out every little thing he saw. Remus was more than a little bit helpless to his childlike glee, the tension that had settled in his chest since seeing him and Fabian together ripped away by the wind to be shredded by the blades above the chopper.

Climbing out on the Potter lawn, Remus had to yank Sirius back hard to prevent him from taking off and transforming into Padfoot in a fit of energy and excitement. He considers threatening to collar him, but decides that would create more suggestive comments than he was willing to field at the moment.

Remus and Sirius bumped shoulders playfully the whole way up the stairs. When they followed one another into the bedroom across from James’, he leaned against the doorframe curiously. “You know, we have other rooms, right? You don’t have to share one.”

The boys traded a look, both fighting smiles. “We’re good,” Remus answered.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was NOT supposed to have a helicopter, but when an awesome artist draws you art to convince you, what are you to do??
> 
> https://art-of-ame.tumblr.com/post/180046421073/this-is-what-happens-when-an-artist-get-writers


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